Transportation systems which include a conveyor unit, are used in various fields for manufacturing products, e.g. in the production of sausage-shaped products. In this specific application, a transportation system is arranged subsequent to an apparatus for producing sausage-shaped products, like a filling and clipping machine combination. The transportation system acts as a discharge device for discharging sausage-shaped products, like sausages, from a discharge end of the clipping machine to a handling device for a further handling of said sausage-shaped products.
In the production of sausage-shaped products, like sausages, a filling material is fed by a filling machine through a filling tube of the clipping machine into a tubular casing material. After a predetermined volume of filling material has been filled into said tubular casing material, the clipping machine closes the back end of the sausage-shaped product via a closing means, like closure clips, which are attached by respective closing tools. A suspension element, like a suspension loop, may also be attached to said back end of said sausage-shaped product, enabling the sausage-shaped product to be hung up e.g. on a smoking rod or the like. Afterwards, the sausage-shaped product just produced, is separated from the remaining casing material by a knife or the like of a cutting device of the clipping machine and is transferred out of the clipping machine to a handling device for the next treatment step or a storage device by a respective transportation system or discharge device.
A discharge device for discharging sausages out of a clipping machine is known from EP patent application 1 744 636. Said known discharge device includes a conveyor unit in the form of a belt conveyor comprising a conveyor belt wound about two pulleys each arranged at one end of the belt conveyor. For driving the belt conveyor, an electric motor is provided, that drives that pulley which is arranged at the end of the belt conveyor facing towards the clipping machine.
From DE laid open document 102 03 457, a system for driving belt conveyors is known wherein a number of identically designed belt conveyors acting as buffering means are provided. A common drive means for driving the belt conveyors includes a first magnetic component and each of the belt conveyors comprises a second magnetic component. The belt conveyors are arranged at a guidance along which they can be shifted relative to the drive means such that a single belt conveyor can be arranged opposite the drive means for driving said single belt conveyor.
These known transportation devices enable the transport of a respective product in a transportation direction on a respective conveyor. However, in case that products of varying size, e.g. with regard to their diameter, length and/or weight, have to be conveyed, various problems may arise. In the case that products of larger diameter or greater length have to be transported, said products may exceed the conveyor belt and may thus be damaged. In case that products of a much higher weight must be handled, the drive of the conveyor may have insufficient power for transporting the products. Accordingly, a transport is not possible, or, in adaption to the varying products, the whole transportation device must constructively be amended.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a transportation system which overcomes the above mentioned drawbacks. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a transportation system of a compact design, which enables the transport of a great variety of products.